During last Friday’s Mankato Area Nonprofit Networking Lunch, Lynn Vincent of Vincent & McBride, a Northfield-based consulting firm, shared some of her favorite tips, tricks and resources. It was a full-house and the pens were busy, including mine. Here are a few of things I managed to jot down:
- Have a “lieutenant” — someone who is empowered to act as needed (in addition to you)
- As the executive director, work in deep partnership with the board chair/president. Be seen together. Make sure people know you are team.
- Remember to regularly assess the strengths of individual board members and to have a variety of people on your board.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of the nominating committee.
- Also, boards should do a self-assessment of themselves.
- Other board reminders: make sure your board knows how to read financial statements, make sure they are not micro-managing, and remind them one of their jobs is to “give and get”.
- Encourage the board to set the agenda — it empowers them.
Lynn also spoke a lot on leadership and shared several books that have helped guide her through her years of leading nonprofits. It was such a good reminder that while even in the midst of the challenges that come with simply managing day-to-day (sometimes hour-by-hour), that taking time for some big-picture leadership is critical.
If you missed the networking lunch or want to follow up on any of these thoughts with Lynn, please feel free to contact her or her colleagues. They are MCN Associate members, have an amazing combined experience and are looking forward to working with nonprofits in Southern Minnesota.
Our next lunch in Mankato will be Friday, March 18!
